Bandung City launches mental health services at sub-district level

The Bandung City Government has launched a mental health service for the public at the sub-district level through the Bandung Utama Bagja Sararea (Bangbara) programme, first introduced in Ujungberung District. Bandung Mayor Muhammad Farhan stated that the service is a solution to provide closer access to psychological counselling for the community. “Today we are launching a new service, starting from Ujungberung District. This is a service to provide psychological counselling to the community, supported by the Health Office and the Office of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection,” Farhan said in Bandung on Thursday. According to him, Bangbara is presented as a safe space for residents needing psychological support, ranging from dealing with stress and prolonged sadness to various other mental health issues. “The aim, of course, is to provide counselling spaces for community members experiencing stress, wanting to share their feelings, or even having prolonged sadness. Just come to Ujungberung District,” he said. Farhan hopes the service can become a pilot and be expanded to all districts in Bandung City. He considers mental health services an increasingly urgent need amidst the rise of various psychological problems in society. He said the increase in cases of violence against women and children is also an important reason for strengthening psychological support services at the local level. Farhan revealed that the results of last year’s Free Health Check programme also showed mental health problems among students in Bandung City. “From the results of last year’s free health check survey, we found the fact that there are tens of thousands of children from primary to senior high school experiencing mental health disorders, ranging from mild stress to severe depression,” he said. Meanwhile, Head of the Bandung City Health Office Sony Adam said information regarding the local psychologist service will be widely disseminated through community health centres (puskesmas), Posyandu cadres, and neighbourhood association (RW) administrators. “Information will be conveyed through puskesmas and disseminated to Posyandu cadres and RWs. Later, the public can register to receive the service. This information will spread throughout the Bandung City area so that the community can benefit from it,” Sony said.